Thursday March 28, 2019
Ahmad Iman Ali, Al Shabaab most wanted suspect. He is said to have been killed in an airstrike in the town of Bu'aale in Jubba, Somalia. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
For the fifth time, security forces have reported that
Al-Shabaab’s director of Kenyan operations has been killed in an
airstrike.
Ahmad Iman Ali, according to intelligence
sources, is reported to have been killed last Friday when an
unidentified aircraft conducted an operation on a building complex in
the town of Bu’aale in middle Jubba, Somalia.
Sources
within the ranks indicated that the Kenyan-born terrorism suspect was
hit and killed together with over 40 Al-Shabaab militants.
The Kenya Defence Forces has, however, not confirmed if Ali was killed in any attack by KDF or any other forces.
Ali
took over the leadership of the group in 2012 and is said to have been
behind the establishment of various terrorist cells in Kenya, leading to
radicalisation of youth.
He is believed to have also spearheaded the establishment of cells in Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Burundi, and DR Congo.
In March 2018, the US declared him a "specially designated global terrorist", putting a freeze on his assets and deny him access to the US financial system.
“Among
the consequences, all of their property and interests in property
subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally
prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them,” the US State
Department statement read.
The
brief said that Ali, also known as Abu Zinira, had targeted Kenyan
troops serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), such
as the January 2016 attack in El Adde.
“Ali is also
responsible for Al-Shabaab propaganda targeting the Kenyan government
and civilians, such as a July 2017 video in which he issues threats to
Muslims serving in Kenya’s security forces. Ali has also served as an
Al-Shabaab recruiter, focusing on poor youth in Nairobi slums, and has
fundraised at mosques to support Al-Shabaab activities,” the statement
indicated.
In 2015, Kenyan security forces announced
that they were cracking down on investments they suspected were run by
Ali in Nairobi’s Majengo and stalls at Gikomba market.
Ali,
who graduated with an engineering degree from Jomo Kenyatta University
of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) before joining Al-Shabaab, is said
to have been operating the businesses through proxies.